


10 Years of Lightning

by Seeking7



Series: Gift Fics 💖 [3]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Baby Hyrule is a HARDCORE kiddo, Features Hyrule being an epic spellcaster, Ganon being a spooky spooky spookster, Gift Fic, Hyrule (Linked Universe)-centric, Just a short drabble bc I love Kai very much, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Magic, Storms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25793848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seeking7/pseuds/Seeking7
Summary: The thunder spell requires tremendous skill, experience, and determination to execute.That doesn't stop a six-year-old Hyrule from trying, however.
Series: Gift Fics 💖 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911241
Comments: 16
Kudos: 96





	10 Years of Lightning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nicetomeetmew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicetomeetmew/gifts).



> A gift for the very talented Kai. We're so glad you're back; you're such a blessing to this server and I'm beyond honored to have been given the opportunity to write a gift fic for you. Take care of yourself, Kai, and I hope you enjoy this little drabble about baby Hyrule being a hardcore baby gremlin wizard 😉

Link woke up to the smell of thunder and evil. 

He waited for his eyes to adjust to the din. Water splashed around him as he moved, and hot swap slog clung to his legs and arms. Ferns brushed his back. Algae drifted lazily between his fingers and stuck to his tunic, and the stench of rotting plant life lingered above. Link stared at the swamp water, and the reflection of a somber, sharp-faced six-year-old stared back. Thunder boomed, and the rain came down in sharp, stinging sheets. 

Where was he? 

He looked around. Mangrove roots hovered above the water like blackened fingers. The brackish swamp water bubbled. Link's heartbeat quickened. Small, bare feet dug into the mud, and he stood up on two bony legs. The rain came down harder, streaming down his face and running over the youthful swell of his cheeks. His breath came out in short pants, and he peeled away the wet brown curls in front of his eyes. 

The earth groaned, and the sky shuddered with purple lightning. 

Ganon was coming. 

Birds scattered into the air. Animals burst from the underbrush. Bugs scrambled desperately behind the trail of panicking fauna sprinting through the swamp water, and the whole world reeked of panic. Link watched the darkening sky with calm green eyes, oblivious to the deer sprinting towards him. 

The buck hit him head on, smacking its horned antlers into Link’s sternum and sending the boy reeling back into the swap. Mangrove roots snapped under his weight, and a vine whipped his ankle and left a bracelet of red welts behind. He inhaled a mouthful of rancid water and spat out the taste of mud and bugs. With a groan, he propped himself up on his elbows, trying to ignore the burning in his chest. 

Ganon was coming. 

Link pulled himself to his feet and ran against the fleeing stream of animals. The pointed tips of his ears stung from the pain and the red flush of too-cold-skin stained his face, but he carried on without a word. Lightning exploded overhead. Thunder followed on its heels. The forest, emptied of animals, watched as the boy sprinted through its silent halls. 

He ran faster. His bare feet, rough and tawny from years of running over hot sand and sharp stone, flexed and skidded over the forest floor. Air whistled through the trees. The ground beneath him turned from underbrush to grass to mountain stone. The world grew silent as Link approached a cliff face and stared over the edge of the world.

A gaping canyon of blackened earth stood below the cliff. A bowl of black in the middle of the forest, it stunk of demons and fire. The twisted, mangled corpses of burnt, dead trees stood at the cavern’s fringes, and chaff was as thick in the air as oxygen. A single, red leaf hovered in front of Link and slowly drifted downwards into the canyon, disappearing into the sea of ash below. 

The lightning crackled again, blue, green, purple and white. The iridescent sky undulated with light. Thunder roared overhead and shook the earth underneath Link’s feet. A shadow hovered on the horizon. Monstrous. Silent. Waiting. 

Ganon was coming.

Link’s eyebrows furrowed. 

Lightning shot through the clouds, followed instantly by a clap of thunder. The kingdom of Hyrule screamed and groaned in fear. 

Link took a few steps back from the cliff’s edge. 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

_Feel the lightning._

_Feel the thunder._

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

_Be the lightning._

_Be the thunder._

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

**_I am the lightning._ **

**_I am the thunder._ **

His arms shot up above his head, and the faintest sparks of lightning sputtered from his fingertips. Thunder whispered weakly around the pathetic light. 

The rain came down harder. 

The shadow on the horizon began to move. 

Link’s heart hammered against his chest. 

Inhale. 

Exhale.

Tiny lungs ballooned with air and small feet dug themselves into the rock. His hands waved around his waist in an imitation of waves on the shore, and heaven’s fire sparkled around his peeling fingertips, green, blue, purple and white. 

**_I am the lightning_ **

**_I am the thunder._ **

He thrust his hands in front of him and forced the fire out of his body. 

Nothing came out.

Again. 

And again. 

But nothing came out. 

The rain blended with his tears as the Hero of Hyrule realized his kingdom was doomed. 

Exhale.

Exhale.

_Exhale._

_Exhale._

_Ex--_

Hyrule woke up with a start. His heart smacked against his ribcage. Sweat trickled down from his hair and dripped off the edge of his nose. The taste of dirt and stale air lingered in his mouth.

The adrenaline faded from his lungs, and he stared at the silent, sleepy forest around him. Trees encircled the clearing, and the figures of slumbering heroes clustered around a dead campfire. Hyrule tossed off his threadbare blanket and silently stood up. Nobody was awake but him. 

His bare toes flexed in the cold grass and thrummed with the memory of the thousand nights of his childhood. Strong, sinewy legs carried him aimlessly into the forest, and he inhaled the sweet smell of grass and thunder. 

His feet ran faster, still hard and leathery and crisscrossed with scars. The muscles in his back and chest pulled and flexed as he sprinted. His heart settled into a familiar, erratic rhythm. Lightning shot through the air, and the thunder followed obediently. The sky split open and dumped its tears on the forest.

But the fire in Hyrule’s heart was undaunted. 

The forest fell away into pastureland, then rock, then empty, brown stone. He took a moment to appreciate where his wandering legs had brought him, marveling at the white, mountain summit he stood on and the lush forest beneath it. Cool, crisp wind native to mountain-tops and places undefiled by Hylian hands threaded through his hair. His bare feet took a stance he had a hundred times before, and his lungs swelled with dawn’s breath. 

He curled his hands and spun them in sharp, clean semi-circles. The muscles wrapped around his arms contracted and pulled in a rhythm he had practiced a thousand times before, and his eyebrows furrowed as the rain continued to pour. 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

_Feel the lightning._

_Feel the thunder._

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

_Be the lightning._

_Be the thunder._

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

Hyrule thrust his arms forward. 

Twin pillars of brilliant green lightning exploded into the air around him. They twirled and danced and intertwined, sprinting away from the deafening clap of thunder that trailed on their heels. 

Again. 

And again.

His own lightning danced with Hylia’s, turning the world blinding green. Electricity burned through his heart and burst from his fingers, slicing the wind around him. The air grew thick with the smell of rain and lightning and thunder and courage. 

Inhale. 

Exhale.

**_I am the lightning._ **

**_I am the thunder._ **

**_And I will save this world no matter what storms come my way._ **

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. 🤍🤍
> 
> To everyone who's reading this, I wanted to take a moment to encourage you to keep going. I don't know what you're going through. I don't know what you have gone through, and what you will go through. But nothing lasts forever, and you will triumph if you set it in your heart to do so. 
> 
> You are the lightning. 
> 
> You are the thunder. 
> 
> Now go take the world by storm.


End file.
